Universal cartridge holder



y 6, WW7 P. D. M LEAN 3,319,5H

UNIVERSAL CARTRIDGE HOLDER Filed OCQ. 8, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l P/QL/L D. WcLEA/v W W ATTORNEY y 6, 1967 P. n. M LEAN UNIVERSAL CARTRIDGE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1965 INVENTOR P L D McLEA/v ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflice 3,3 19,5 l l Patented May 16, 1967 3,319,511 UNIVERA1L CARTRKDGE HOLDER Paul D. McLean, 2670 Lakeshore Blvd. W., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Fiied (Get. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 494,195 Claims. (Cl. 36-44) My invention relates to a holder for cartridge cases which may be used in a press during the steps necessary in a cartridge reloading operation.

More specifically, my invention relates to a holder having adjustable fingers which extend over the rim of cartridges and which through a cam action may be moved inwardly or outwardly to adjust to the various sizes of cartridges and which when properly adjusted may be clamped into final position in a manner which also rigidly clamps the holder to the ram of a press.

My holder may be used in the various steps of cartridge reloading which include resizing, decapping, deburring, recapping, reloading with a powder charge and projectile seating. The convenience and reduced expense made possible through my invention stem from the fact that my holder may be mounted on a standard ram and may be used for cartridges of various diameters. Since such a device must be reasonably priced and consist of a minimum number of parts to insure a simple rugged operable structure, various devices previously on the market have not, it is believed, provided the necessary answer to this problem. In the instant invention, a lock means is provided which accomplishes the dual function of locking the fingers in a predetermined radial position while at the same time rigidly locking the entire holder to the ram. It is recognized that adjustable fingers are known in the art, an example of such fingers being shown in the U.S. Cecchi Patent No. 3,025,743.

An object of my invention is to provide a holder with adjustable cartridge fingers and adapted for attachment to a standard r-am of a cartridge press which includes a main member which preferably is made of a descrete upper and lower portion, fingers mounted for horizontal inward and outward movement in the upper portion, cam means for actuating said fingers in guide Ways in the upper portion and lock means for rigidly uniting the parts of the holder with the ram. The fingers are part of an adjustable cartridge hold down means including the fingers and a cam operably interconnected therewith. The lock means is operatively interconnected with the upper portion of the main member in a manner such that upon locking the fingers in predetermined adjusted recess the holder is rigidly locked to the ram.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification, appended claims and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a press mounting the holder of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the holder with the fingers at an intermediate position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the angle line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3 with the fingers shown at dotted lines withdrawn radially to their outermost position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 with the fingers shown in dotted line at their innermost position;

FIG. 6 is on its left side similar to FIG. 3 and on its right side taken at an upward 45 angle from the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, the view being enlarged to clearly identify the clamped surfaces and spacing of other surfaces when the holder is in locked condition on the ram;

FIG. 7 is an exploded top perspective view of the discrete upper and lower portions of the main member; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the parts of FIG. 7 with the addition of one finger.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 68, it will be seen that the holder 15 is mounted on a ram 16 of a standard loading press 17. It will be particularly noted that the holder has a main member 18 which has side opening cartridge recess 19 in its upper portion 20. This cartridge recess 19 has vertical chordal walls 21, 21 and a bottom Wall 22 therebetween for enabling the inward sliding placement of a cartridge 23 with its rim 24 beneath the projecting finger ends 25 of the fingers 26. Referring to FIG. 3, the ram 16 has a side opening ram recess 27 in its top end, this recess 27 being formed with an annular type flange 28 which provides a downwardly facing ram surface 29 for clamping engagement with a co-acting main member flange 30 which has an upwardly facing member surface 31.

In the upper portion 20 of the main member 18 there are circumferentially spaced substantially horizontal guide ways 35 (preferably these guide ways are rectangular radial slots formed in the upper portion of the main member), and adjustable cartridge hold down means 36 which includes the fingers 26 mounted in the guide ways and the cam means 37 operably interconnected with the fingers. Preferably, the cam means 37 is in the form of a ring having in its upper surface a plurality of substantially spirally inwardly progressing guides 38 in the form of slots which operatively engage depending lugs 39 from the bottom surfaces of the fingers. It will be apparent that upon rotation of the cam means the fingers will be simultaneously and similarly moved radially inwardly and outward of the cartridge recess 19 in the main member (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 5).

The holder parts are rigidly united and, concomitantly, the holder is rigidly clamped to the ram by a lock means 40 which operatively engages the main member to downwardly clamp the fingers 2-6 and ea n means 37 against the top end 41 of the ram 16 and upwardly clamp the lower portion 42 of the main member against the downwardly facing surface 29 of the ram. Preferably, the locking means is in the form of threaded members 44, such as the set screws shown, which are operable with .a wrench to enable application of a smooth and evenly distributed pressure around the circumference of the main member. Three fingers 26 are sufiicient to accomplish accurate cartridge mounting. In use, the set screws 44 are withdrawn upwardly to enable an extension of the lower portion 42 of the main member below the annular ring cam means 37. The holder is then mounted on the ram by horizontal inward sliding of the lower portion 42 into the ram recess 27. The cartridge being processed, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, is then inserted and the cam means 37 rotated to properly and equidistantly place the finger ends 25 over the cartridge rim 24. The fingers need not tightly engage the cartridge rim in that they serve merely to longitudinally withdraw the cartridge when the ram is longitudinally withdrawn. When the fingers are properly adjusted, the set screws 44 are equally tightened, thereby forcing the downwardly facing finger surfaces 50 against the upper surface 51 of the cam means 37, the undersurface 52 of the cam means being pressed against the top end 41 or surface of the ram 16, resulting in upward movement of the main member 18 to draw the upwardly facing member surface 31 of the lower portion 42 of the main member into pressing engagement with the down wardly facing ram surface 29 of the ram, The unit is then in rigid locked condition and ready for use.

Preferably, the main member 18 is generally cylindrical in shape and consists of two discrete parts; namely, the

upper portion 20 and the lower portion 42. The upper portion 20 is notched to provide the side opening cartridge recess 19 and it has a central vertical hole 60 therethrough which is countersunk to provide an upwardly facing annular ledge :61 which provides a seat for the upper annular rim 62 of the lower portion which when fully seated has its top surface 63 in horizontal smooth planar alignment with the bottom wall 22 of the cartridge recess. The main member 18 has a depending annular bearing means 64 formed by a substantially semicircular forward segment 65 and two quadrant segments 66, 66, these segments being spaced apart by the slots 67 which form the guide ways 35 for the fingers. The depending lugs 39 of the fingers are guided by the sidewalls of the cam means slots 38 and preferably do not engage the bottoms thereof. It will be appreciated, therefore, that the clamping action is preferably formed 'by horizontal surfaces of significant area, thereby providing a rigid unit when in locked condition. It will also be noted that the depending Segments 65, 66, 66, of the upper portion of the main member serve to align the upper and lower portions of the main member. Each finger includes a rectangular parallelepiped block from which extends a finger end 25 and from which depends a camming lug 39.

While the invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, they are to be considered illustrative rather than limiting, and it is intended to cover all further embodiments that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A holder for a cartridge case having a rim adapted to be mounted in a side opening ram recess in the top end of a ram, said ram recess having a downwardly facing ram surface, comprising a main member including a lower portion receivable in said ram recess and an upper portion having a side opening cartridge recess and circumferentially spaced substantially horizontal guide ways, adjustable cartridge hold down means including fingers mounted in said guide ways and cam means operatively interconnected with said fingers for enabling adjusting movement of said fingers for receiving cartridges of various diameters, lock means for operatively engaging said main member to downwardly clamp said fingers and cam means against the top end of the ram and upwardly clamp the lower portion of the main member against the downwardly facing surface of the ram for locked engagement of the holder on the ram and for simultaneously locking said fingers in a predetermined radial position.

2. A holder as defined in claim 1 and wherein said cam means is mounted under said fingers for engagement with the top end of the ram.

3. A holder as defined in claim 2 and wherein said main member is generally cylindrical in shape and said lock means includes a screw for each finger threadedly mounted in the upper portion of the main member, each screw operatively engaging the top of its respective finger to accomplish clamping.

4. A holder as defined in claim 3 and wherein the upper portion and the lower portion of the main member are discrete parts having horizontally extending opposed horizontal faces which are clamped together when in clamped condition, and wherein the bottom surfaces of said fingers and said top end of the ram and the under and upper surfaces of said cam are horizontally extending surfaces.

5. A holder for a cartridge case having a rim adapted to be mounted at the top end of a rim having a top surface and a side opening ram recess in its top end with a downwardly facing ram surface therein, said holder comprising a main member having an upper portion and a lower portion and a side opening cartridge recess in its upper portion forming a seat for the rim of a cartridge and circumferentially spaced horizontal guide ways, said lower portion having an upwardly facing base member surface receivable within said ram recess for clamped engagement against said ram surface, adjustable cartridge hold down means including fingers movable in said guide ways and having downwardly facing finger surfaces and a cam means operatively interconnected with said fingers and having an undersurface for clamped engagement against the ram top surface and an upper surface for clamped engagement against said finger surfaces, said cam means having inwardly progressing guides for enabling radial movement of said fingers in said guide ways into and out of said cartridge recess for arranging said fingers to receive cartridge rims of various diameters, lock means operatively engaging said main member and said fingers for moving said main member upwardly and said fingers downwardly into a tightly clamped condition wherein said surfaces are clamped against each other for locked engagement of the holder on the ram and for simultaneously locking said fingers in a predetermined radial position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,082,660 3/1963 Robertson 86-44 3,157,407 11/1964 Aulabaugh 8644 X 3,185,019 5/1965 Shofistall 8644 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

P. A. SHANLEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A HOLDER FOR A CARTRIDGE CASE HAVING A RIM ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED IN A SIDE OPENING RAM RECESS IN THE TOP END OF A RAM, SAID RAM RECESS HAVING A DOWNWARDLY FACING RAM SURFACE, COMPRISING A MAIN MEMBER INCLUDING A LOWER PORTION RECEIVABLE IN SAID RAM RECESS AND AN UPPER PORTION HAVING A SIDE OPENING CARTRIDGE RECESS AND CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL GUIDE WAYS, ADJUSTABLE CARTRIDGE HOLD DOWN MEANS INCLUDING FINGERS MOUNTED IN SAID GUIDE WAYS AND CAM MEANS OPERATIVELY INTERCONNECTED WITH SAID FINGERS FOR ENABLING ADJUSTING MOVEMENT OF SAID FINGERS FOR RECEIVING CARTRIDGES OF VARIOUS DIAMETERS, LOCK MEANS FOR OPERATIVELY ENGAGING SAID MAIN MEMBER TO DOWNWARDLY CLAMP SAID FINGERS AND CAM MEANS AGAINST THE TOP END OF THE RAM AND UPWARDLY CLAMP THE LOWER PORTION OF THE MAIN MEMBER AGAINST THE DOWNWARDLY FACING SURFACE OF THE RAM FOR LOCKED ENGAGEMENT OF THE HOLDER ON THE RAM AND FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY LOCKING SAID FINGERS IN A PREDETERMINED RADIAL POSITION. 